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Special Session Schedule

  • Day 1

    Mon, October 5

  • In this panel, the current and past Chairs of the World Congress International Organizing Committee will join together with social partners to explore the premise that a strong culture of prevention has supported the ability of workplaces to respond effectively to COVID-19. Through the lens of those sectors that were deemed “essential”, the panel will explore what role a culture of prevention played in responding to the COVID-19 emergency, and what new lessons this experience offers about the importance of a prevention culture to occupational health and safety globally.  

    Panelists:
    Mr. John Beckett, Vice-President Operations, British Columbia Maritime Employers Association, Canada
    Ms. Marie Clarke Walker, Secretary-Treasurer, Canadian Labour Congress, Canada
    Dr. Walter Eichendorf, Former Chair, International Organizing Committee, XX World Congress on Safety & Health at Work, Germany
    Er. Ho Siong Hin, Former Chair, International Organizing Committee, XXI World Congress on Safety & Health at Work, Singapore
    Prof. Dr. Cameron Mustard, President, Institute for Work & Health and Chair, International Organizing Committee, XXII World Congress on Safety and Health at Work, Canada
    Ms. Elizabeth Witmer, Chair, Ontario Workplace Safety and Insurance Board, Canada

    Moderator:
    Ms. Anne Tennier, President, Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety, Canada

  • This session will address the impacts of COVID-19 on workers and businesses. The panel discussion will seek the views of employers, workers and governments on how to effectively prepare for the uncertain occupational safety and health developments in the immediate to mid-term future and why is social dialogue key to successful recovery, preventing workers ill-health, and in building resilience and sustainability of workplaces. Panelists will also debate how to build synergies in ensuring protection for all and provide coherent and informed policy responses. Finally, a research institution (European Agency for Safety and Health at Work) will reflect on past experiences of common tripartite action to address occupational safety and health emergencies, and will brief the audience on new scientific evidence and how this may affect policy development within the next year to two year period.

    Confirmed Panelists:
    Mr. Roberto Suárez Santos, Secretary-General, International Organisation of Employers, Switzerland
    Ms. Elke Schneider, Senior Project Manager, European Agency for Safety and Health at Work, Spain
    Mr. Owen Tudor, Deputy General Secretary, International Trade Union Confederation, Belgium

    Languages:
    English, French, German, Spanish

  • Languages:
    English, French, German, Spanish

  • Launched at the last World Congress three years ago, Vision Zero has found a broad acceptance in the world of industry, organisations and occupational safety and health professionals. What started as a campaign has gradually become part of a prevention culture and a sound strategy to improve prevention performance beyond compliance. Following the demands of the occupational safety and health community, we have been working with businesses, social security institutions, researchers and professional training providers to take Vision Zero to the next level.

    In this session the International Social Security Association will present to you
    - The new Vision Zero Training Programme – professional Vision Zero training, conducted by recommended Vision Zero trainers.
    - The new Vision Zero Proactive Leading Indicators – a guide to measure and manage safety, health and wellbeing.
    - Exciting experiences and Vision Zero success stories from the OSH community.

    Confirmed Panelists:
    Mr. Helmut Ehnes, Chairman, International Social Security Association VISION ZERO Steering Committee, Germany
    Prof. Brou Yves Yéboué Kouamé, Director, Social Insurance Institute - National Social Insurance Fund, Côte d’Ivoire
    Dr. Dheera Phong-anant, Manager, OSH Development & International Relations Center, SHAWPAT, Thailand
    Prof. Stavroula Leka, Professor of Work Organization & Well-being, Cork University Business School, Ireland

    Moderator:
    Mr. Bernd Treichel, Senior Technical Specialist in Prevention, International Social Security Association, Germany

  • International Media Festival for Prevention
    The International Media Festival for Prevention will present a 5 minute-video moderated by Martina Hesse-Spötter, Chair of the International Social Security Association Special Commission on Prevention and President of the International Social Security Association Electricity Section, which will summarize the festival’s submissions phase, the jury work and what is coming next. It will also address on how the postponement of the World Congress, due to the pandemic, will has affected the development of the Festival. The video will also include highlights from the International Media Festival for Prevention 2017, the official invitation to the Special Media Session at the World Congress in Toronto in September 2021, and an invitation to the virtual International Media Festival for Prevention Short List Announcement on 6 October 2020 at 9:00 am EST.

    Speaker:
    Ms. Martina Hesse-Spötter, Chair of the International Social Security Association Special Commission on Prevention and President of the International Social Security Association Electricity Section, Germany

    XXIII World Congress on Safety & Health at Work
    A surprise Special Announcement will be made about the XXIII World Congress on Safety & Health at Work scheduled to take place in 2023.

    Languages:
    English, French, German, Spanish

  • Speakers:
    Mr. Guy Ryder, Director-General, International Labour Organization
    Prof. Dr. Joachim Breuer, President, International Social Security Association
    Prof. Dr. Cameron Mustard, President, Institute for Work & Health and Chair, International Organizing Committee, XXII World Congress on Safety and Health at Work, Canada
    Ms. Anne Tennier, President, Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety

    Languages:
    English, French, German, Spanish

  • The employment impacts of COVID-19 in many nations have been sharp and deep, while in others they have been less severe.  In all nations COVID-19 can be seen to be shaping the future world of work. In this session, panelists will describe scenarios for the pace of global employment recovery, look at the future of work organization and the growth and impact of remote working arrangements, prevention measures for essential workers, the importance of social security protections, and policy reforms that may emerge in the post-pandemic period. 

    Panelists:
    Dr. Mohammed Azman Aziz Mohammed, CEO, Social Security Organisation, Malaysia
    Mr. Aminur Rashid-Repon Chowdury, Executive Director, Bangladesh Occupational Safety, Health and Environment Foundation, Bangladesh
    Mr. Kris De Meester, Senior Advisor, Verbond Van Belgische Ondernemingen, Belgium
    Dr. Viviana Gómez Sánchez, President, Latin-American Association of Occupational Health, Costa Rica
    Mr. Phillip Germain, CEO, Saskatchewan Workers’ Compensation Board, Canada
    Dr. Elizabeth Lungu-Nkumbula, Board Chairperson, ENVIS Consulting Limited, Zambia

    Moderator:
    Mr. Rakesh Patry, Director General of International and Intergovernmental Labour Affairs, Employment and Social Development Canada, Government of Canada, Canada

    Languages:
    English, French, German, Spanish

  • COVID-19 represents a new type of occupational disease, with rapid onset of symptoms rather than the traditional long latency period. The need for immediate and urgent action by governments and workplaces to safeguard workers means new ways of diagnosing, recording and notifying are required to meet this challenge and to evaluate the burden and impact on workplaces and social security systems.  In this session, panelists will address this challenge with a focus on the virtual OSH training and technology as a tool in the response to COVID-19, the development and dissemination of workplace infection prevention practices in the context to COVID-19, and the new complexities COVID-19 brings to already existing legal issues related to prevention and health data.

    Panelists:
    Prof. Dr. Joachim Breuer, President, International Social Security Association, Germany
    Prof. Dr. Seong-Kyu Kang, MD, PhD, Professor, Gachon University Gil Medical Centre and Vice President, International Commission on Occupational Health, Republic of Korea
    Prof. Dr. Katherine Lippel, Distinguished Research Chair on Occupational Health and Safety Law, University of Ottawa, Canada
    Mr. Emad Rizkalla, Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Bluedrop Performance Learning, Canada
    Dr. Andrew Sharman, President, Institution of Occupational Safety and Health, Switzerland/United Kingdom

    Moderator:
    Mrs. Vera Lucia Isaac Paquete-Perdigão, Director of the Governance and Tripartism Department, International Labour Organization

    Languages:
    English, French, German, Spanish

  • Day 2

    Tues, October 6

  • The Global Forum gathers leading experts and researchers from social security institutions to discuss prevention related questions for workers compensation boards and occupational accident insurance schemes. The Forum focusses on various topics dedicated to prevention, communication, innovation, sustainability and resilience. This year, the Forum will address responses to pandemics outbreaks and extreme events such as the COVID-19. It will be hosted by the Social Insurance Fund of the Russian Federation with honourable support of the XXII World Congress on Safety and Health Organizers, the International Social Security Association (ISSA) and its ISSA Technical Commission on Insurance against Employment Accidents and Occupational Diseases. We are also pleased to welcome the regional organizations, bringing together social security institutions that are providing insurance against accidents at work and occupational diseases.

    Confirmed Speakers:
    Mr. Marcelo Abi-Ramia Caetano, Secretary General, International Social Security Association
    Mr. Phillip Germain, Chief Executive Officer, Saskatchewan Workers’ Compensation Board, Canada
    Mr. Alexey Polikashin, Deputy Chairman, Social Insurance Fund of the Russian Federation
    Mr. Vic van Vuren, Director of Enterprises, International Labour Organisation, Switzerland

    Languages:
    To be confirmed.

  • The meeting will explore the intersected relationship of occupational safety and health, policy and governance, business continuity and resilience, employment and labour rights in a context of COVID-19 pandemic. It will debate the short and medium-term role of safety and health at work in the definition of economic and social policy responses to build back better in a “new normal” scenario.

    The first panel will debate how safety and health actions taken and implemented by governments, employers and workers at workplaces contributed to the response on COVID-19 and how they will continue to support the fight against the new corona virus. In addition, how they will prepare for fully recovery as a contributing factor for employment retention, livelihoods, job creation, strengthening of national economies and social dialogue. The panel will also consider the expected health outcomes of the crisis on working conditions, namely in terms of work organization and the longstanding effects on the mental health of the working population. Speakers will deliberate on why and how the International Labour Organization has applied the four-pillar policy framework in the COVID-19 context, and how these policy dimensions can on one hand benefit from strong national occupational safety and health systems and enterprise-level action. On the other hand, they will explore opportunities arising from the crisis for a reinforced attention to the prevention of occupational hazards and the protection of all workers against ill health as a key factor to well-being and national prosperity.

    The second panel “Global action for common problems: the case of the Global Coalition for Safety and Health at Work” meeting will highlight and showcase how never as before collaboration between multilateral actors and countries is important through initiatives like the Global Coalition for Safety and Health at Work. The panel will focus on the importance of supporting collaborative efforts on OSH to boost innovation and timely/collective responses to global challenges. The session will be graced by Coalition Task Group leads to debate why there is a need for global joint efforts to address COVID-19 pandemic in the context of other occupational safety and health risk factors, and the foreseen opportunities and risks in the future, and how to prepare to prevent and address them.

    Panelists:
    Coming soon

    Languages:
    To be confirmed.

  • Since 1990, the International Sections of the International Social Security Association for Electricity and on Information for Prevention have been organizing the "International Media Festival for Prevention" in the framework of the World Congress for Safety and Health at Work, which takes place every three years. And despite the postponement of this year’s World Congress to 19-22 September 2021 in Toronto, the media festival remains an integral part of the main international prevention event.  

    Join us on a media journey around the globe!  

    We warmly invite you to attend our “IMFP Live Session” on 6 October 2020 from 9:00 – 10:00 am EST. Find out what is new in the field of media in prevention, and be part of the announcement of the 50 shortlisted projects of this year's festival. We look forward to your participation!

    The best submissions will be awarded at the traditional Special Media Session on 20 September 2021 in Toronto, Canada. 

    Moderators:
    Ms. Martina Hesse-Spötter, Chair of the International Social Security Association Special Commission on Prevention and President of the International Social Security Association Electricity Section, Germany
    Mr. Holger Zingsheim, Head of Communication, BG ETEM - Berufsgenossenschaft Energie Textil Elektro Medienerzeugnisse (German Social Accident Insurance Institution for the energy, textile, electrical and media products sectors), Germany

    Language:
    English